How do I pray when I feel far from God?

Welcome to Day 1 of the 7 day prayer challenge! I want to invite you to download your free PDF copy of the Let’s Talk About Prayer Ebook. There is a link at the end of this post where you can do that easily. Thanks for subscribing to The Real Mom – Heather Riggleman. 🙂

Julie and I kick off day two of the conversation and 7 Day Prayer Challenge with this thought, “Does God really hear me, does he care about my prayers?”

Feeling more alone than ever, another wave of thoughts rippled through my foggy mind.

Today will be the same as yesterday; God doesn’t have time for your petty prayers.

Half tempted to listen to those negative thoughts, James 4:8 came to mind, reminding me how God draws near to us even when we don’t think He this there. God draws near to me even when my Bible has been lying on my nightstand collecting dust, even when I haven’t spent time with Him in ages. He still draws near to us.

Key verse: “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” James 4:8

How do I pray when God feels far away?

Jules~ Wrong thinking takes our emotions down an empty road. If we believe God is far, we may resist our need to kneel in prayer. “Yet he is actually not far from each one of us,” (Acts 17:27b). Though the problems and concerns of life might make us feel far from God, His word corrects the false sense that He is distant.

Not too long ago, I sat on the back porch swing watching the sun go down. I had just learned my daughter had Aspergers and there was so much else pulling at me.

I found myself trying hard to support my three children in their needs, trying to be the good wife, trying to be a ministry leader and owner of a new online women’s magazine. And then there was this new life growing inside of me.

I didn’t know how to talk to God, let alone tell him my fears or shake the dread that followed every time I thought about this new baby. I tried to talk to my husband, mentors, and friends. Nothing eased the exhaustion gnawing away the deep places in my heart, demanding answers.

Trying, trying, trying….

And then life shattered into a million little pieces. All I could do was sob and say, “Jesus.” The baby was gone, my ministry was gone, and the perfect life I thought I had created was gone but this is where my prayer life began.

Trying isn’t what God promised when he said he wanted us to have life and to live it abundantly.

Raw and emotional, I began talking to God and it was during these tender moments when I learned how to pray. I learned God wasn’t some old man on a cloud, granting wishes to those who pleased him most.

I learned God wanted to hear my fears, worries, and dreams. As life began to heal, I started to “talk” to him throughout the day and I found him answering me during the dishes, the school shuttle, and even when I couldn’t utter more than “thank you” or “Jesus.”

Over time I learned how to pray for my husband, how to cover my children in prayer, and I as I learned how to journal my prayers, I had a record of when God answered my prayers.

When I talked to Julie about the power of prayer, something sparked within us, “Wouldn’t someone want to be a fly on the wall during our conversations?”

“You mean eaves dropping on a conversation between a 30 something mom and a 40 something mama?” Let’s Talk About Prayer was born.

Looking back to that day when I sat on the porch swing, little did I realize the longing in my heart was to connect with Jesus—to know he understood the depths of my heart, to be able to talk to him. Are you feeling the same way? Then join us.

Over the next 7 Days, Julie and I will be answering key questions covered in the book and then some. Along with the book, this 7 Day Devotional Challenge will nourish your soul, equipping you with the tools to pray, and establishing a new way to pray.

Are you ready? If you haven’t signed up for the prayer challenge, click here:

Join Us

Before you leave my tiny part of the web, let me introduce you to my wonderful, dear sweet friend and mentor: Julie Sanders!

It’s here! It’s here! Click here: Let’s Talk About Prayer/Amazon if you would like to download it for 99 cents on Amazon or scroll down to receive it for FREE!!!

Do you find yourself tempted to eavesdrop on words shared between friends? What if they were talking about how to make prayer a meaningful part of life as a mom? This is your invitation to lean in close and listen to the conversation when one thirty-something says to a forty-something, “Let’s talk about prayer.”

Motherhood has a way of bringing us to our knees. A shared passion for prayer brought two moms from different decades and backgrounds together to talk about making prayer work in the trenches of family life. Your prayer life might be barely breathing, just getting started or thirsting for more, but you’re welcome to bring your cup to the table and join us. In Let’s Talk About Prayer you’ll find answers moms need to know and tools to grow.

How do we tap into the power of prayer when life works against us?

How should I order my life so I can pray?

How do I tackle praying about so many things?

How do I find the right words to pray?

How do I help my family by praying?

Are these questions you’re asking? Would you like to know how to cultivate a prayerful life in chaos? Would you like to manage the mountain of prayer needs and find the right words to pray with confidence? Would you like to pray to impact your family? Join the conversation.

Let’s Talk about Prayer!

Together, author’s Heather R. Riggleman and Julie Sanders knows that today’s Christian moms want to be the prayer mom’s God intended. They desire to pray confidently and stand in the gap for their kids. But many mothers haven’t been equipped with the prayer skills, scriptural knowledge, and practical strategies to pray when life gets overwhelming. In this book, Heather and Julie teach you how to pray, whether you have always prayed, have been a prayer slacker–this short e-book is the perfect resource you need!

Join Heather & Julie for the 7 Day Prayer Challenge

Sign up here for the 7 Day Prayer Challenge, designed to equip, encourage, and ignite your prayer life starting soon! Continue below to get a FREE copy of Heather’s new book!!!

Temptation. It comes in every shape and form. The worst temptation for me is when I can’t resist food and it affects my waistline, but for my children–it’s different. They are tempted to disobey and do things that aren’t good for them. And this summer has been tough.

My son has regressed in terms of maturity and impulsiveness due to medication changes for his ADHD — you can read about that this coming Tuesday, but it has made parenting all the more frustrating because my daughter is tempted to do things her brother does. And both are tempted to disobey all the rules.

So how do you teach your kids to resist temptation? I’ve found the more I teach my kids passages and the more they memorize it–the better.

When they disobey, I take a deep breath and then ask them about passages they’ve learned. As they recite it, I ask questions relevant to the passages and what they did. It reminds me why I’m their mother and my goal is a heart change–not just a change in behavior.

If you’re wanting changes and help with resisting temptation, take the time to read through the passages this week as you and your family journals. Share examples, insights, and whatever else may help your kids!

~When we are tempted~

MONDAY

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

1 Corinthians 10:13

Tuesday

Finally be strong in the Lord and his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.

Ephesians 6:10-11

Wednesday

Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in your faith.

1 Peter 5:8-9

Thursday

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we do have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin.Hebrews 4:15

Friday

For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.

Us Against the World

Nothing has been harder than this year– than this moment in marriage. When Chris and I were teenagers, it was us against the world, after all we were teen parents. So when rent came due and we couldn’t pay–it was no big deal–we still had each other. We would lay together, arm in arm and dream about the future.

We made it to the future–two more kids, a little yellow house with red brick trim around the front door. An eight foot wooden picnic table in the front yard. Two little lap dogs whom welcome us home and give us headaches.

I stayed home and raised our babies–to kids–tall, blond and lean. Together we faced miscarriages, autism, and nearly losing our first home.

We’ve Grown Up

Nearly 15 years later, we’ve grown up. We’ve changed. Somewhere along the way, God surgically cut our hearts from one to two. And the tie that binds us back together is our faith in God. It’s not wrong, it’s just different. Suddenly, it’s like trying to find our way in the dark, blindfolded. But I know we have a great future and so many things, memories, experiences left to discover together.

So my prayers for my husband are different. My prayers aren’t “Lord, bless my sweet husband today…” It’s more like, “Lord, I don’t know where to go from here. I don’t know how to encourage him or support him. I can’t see the future–please God…You haven’t failed us before. Help me to pray the right words to encourage, equip and cheer him on–whatever the future may be.”

Prayers lately come to me in songs and this year, the song for my husband, for our marriage, for. our. future: Sidewalk Prophets, Help Me Find It. Sometimes in the quiet moments when there are no words, the melody of a song becomes my prayer and it made me realize how often I need to pray for Chris. Below is the prayer calendar I crafted around his needs and our struggles. It is my prayer that it will bless your marriage or your future marriage.

My Call–My Heart’s Desire

My prayer calendar for Chris is based on Matthew 7:13-14

“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”